Author Topic: Billets(Pics added)  (Read 5504 times)

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Offline nlester

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Billets(Pics added)
« on: January 21, 2015, 09:16:02 pm »
I have some osage billets.  Do you have to match billets up, or could you take any two pieces and splice them together?  Also, where could I find a template for the splice pattern?  Thanks for any info.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2015, 06:45:47 pm by nlester »

Offline lebhuntfish

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Re: Billets
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2015, 10:08:39 pm »
I'm only chiming in so I can watch this thread. I've not done a billet splice yet. Patrick
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Missouri, where all the best wood is! Well maybe not the straightest!

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Offline Drewster

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Re: Billets
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2015, 11:30:46 pm »
Yes, it's better to match your billets as the come out of the log......sister billets.  You flip one around and then splice them together.  Whenever I'm splitting billets out of a log, I number the pairs so I can keep them together.  The reason is so that the wood in each limb will match as well as possible.  That will make a better bow and be easier to tiller.  If you have a bunch of mismatched billets, I would certainly try to match the grain and thickness of the growth rings up the best I could.

Volume I, Chapter 9 of the Traditional Bowyers Bible is about splicing.   Several patterns are shown and explained.   I like the Z-splice because the splice is identical for both billets.  Keep a good, sharp band saw blade and cut them as accurately as you possibly can.  I also make sure I have a flat cut on the belly side of the billet that is parallel to the back.  This will help you keep the billet flat on the band saw table and assist with a more accurate cut.

Good luck and have fun.  You can utilize pieces of wood and splice them in the handle that would otherwise be worthless for a bow.
Drew - Boone, NC

Offline DC

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Re: Billets
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2015, 11:35:28 pm »
My latest bow was a spliced yew made of two random pieces. It was a bit of a PITA to tiller but not that bad. It looks a little funny with different heartwood colors and sapwood thicknesses.

Offline vinemaplebows

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Re: Billets
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2015, 12:51:47 am »
Depends on species of wood....better to have sister billets, but not a must.
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Offline sleek

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Re: Billets
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2015, 04:22:28 am »
I had two hickory billets. One was tight growth the other wide rings. Each limb took different amounts of set. Very annoying.
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Offline arachnid

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Re: Billets
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2015, 07:56:23 am »
Has anyone tried the square (box) splice?
I had a hard time making a Z without a band saw...

Offline Pappy

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Re: Billets
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2015, 08:19:24 am »
In a prefect world a matched set ,but either will work just fine. :)
   Pappy
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Offline nlester

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Re: Billets
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2015, 08:36:40 am »
I have the sisters to the billets I'm working on, but they're not very nice IMO.  It looked better to take to pretty nice billets and put them together.  We'll see how they turn out.  I'm going to try the z-splice I reckon. 

Offline Drewster

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Re: Billets
« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2015, 09:04:46 am »
Do a practice splice or two.  I do my layout lines with a knife point.....more accurate than a pencil.  Cut just to the line and you can do some clean up with a fine rasp and bench chisel.

I found an epoxy from a boat building supplier called West System - G/flex.  It has some gap filling capabilities and has proven to work really well for splicing bow handles.  Others may chime in with glues that they have used that work well too.  Good luck and have fun.
Drew - Boone, NC

Offline nlester

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Re: Billets
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2015, 09:10:58 am »
That was another thing I was going to ask about......glue.  What are some of the glues that you use when splicing handles??

Offline simson

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Re: Billets
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2015, 01:50:16 pm »
epoxi
Simon
Bavaria, Germany

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Billets
« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2015, 02:11:59 pm »
I have done plenty both ways, I cant tell which is which now. But its always sexy to say you used sister billets. Makes it sound like a better bow, even if it isn't.
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Offline duke3192

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Re: Billets
« Reply #13 on: January 22, 2015, 10:36:53 pm »
Smooth-on EA40, expensive up-front but easy to use and very economical to use, don't mix up too much, it goes A LOT farther than you think.
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Offline nlester

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Re: Billets
« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2015, 06:09:59 pm »
I ended up using a  2-part epoxy and a z-splice. Hopefully all goes well.